Roseburg review. [volume] (Roseburg, Or.) 1885-1920, 1887-08-19
TELEGRAPHIC NEWS,
TERRIBLE ACCIDENT
-AH Excursion Trais Goes Thyouoh n
Burning Bridge.

| CHICAGO, Aug. ia dispatch from
Chatsworth, Illinois, says an excursion trair
lett Bloomington last night for Niagara Fall
on the Illinois Central, the intention being t,
go by that road as far as Chatsworth, and from
there by way of the Toledo, Peoria g. Western
lhe change was made in Chatsworth in Liy
ingston county. Soon afterward, as tn. trair
neared Piper City, small town in Ford
county, the bridge crossing the Vermillion
riFer gave away, plunging the engine and
several cars down the steep embankment into
the stream. The cars caught fire from the
lamps, and fearful panic ensued.
When the relief train from Peoria reached
Its destination a sad gbastly sight was brough,
to view. Ten coaches had either gone through
The bridge or were piled crosswise and length.
wise on the track. The shrieks and groans
OF the wounded and dying could be heard.
The gorge through which the cars went was
small one. The bridge had been set on
flre, which was the cause of its breaking. So
Tar over seventy bodies have been recovered.
They were conveyed to the town hall. school
houses and on the depot platform.
This IS the most frightful railroad accident
that ever occurred and it is thought by some
to have been the work of an organized band
Oh robbers, as the dead and dying were plum.
dered of their valuabIes by gang of thieves.
Ihe latest rumors are that arrests have been
made OF two suspicious characters. The sec.
ton foreman testified before the coroner's
jury that the section men had been burning
the grass along the road but had put out alf
the fires. Prompt aid was sent from all
directions but 1t was over four hours before
the fires were eNtlnguished. The bridge is in
very lonely spot, there being no house near,
and twice before distractions have been dis
covered upon 1t. AT least 50 people were
killed and many more injured.
The following particulars are from the Chi
cago Times special: II lacked just five min
utcs of midnight. Down in the ditch Law the
second engine, engineer McClintock dead and
fireman Applegatc badly injured. On top
~ f4'N" 'iiN 'iiico pdSSaSe cars, on top Oi
each other, like 4 child's card house after he
had swept ii with his hand. Then came the
SIX day coaches. They were teIcscoped as
cars never were before, and three Of them
were pressed in just space enough for one |
The second car had crashed through the car
ahead OF 1t, crushing the woodwork aside like |
Under, and resting on the tops of the seats,
while every passenger in the front car was
lying dead and dying underneath. Out Of
that car but four people came alive. On top
OF the second car lay the third, the bottom
smeared with the blood Of its victims. The
other three cars were not so badly crushed, |
but they were broken and twisted in every
conceivable way, and every timber and beam
represented a crushed human frame or a |
broken bone. Instantly the air was filled |
with the cries OF the wounded and the shrieks !
OF those about 10 die. The groans of men |
and the screams Of women united to make an /
appalling sound, and above all could be |
heard the agonizing cries of little children. |
In some instances they lay pinned alongside
of their dead parents.